SAS Australia’s Matthew ‘Ollie’ Ollerton reveals what the show’s DS are really like

He was one of the tough-talking DS (directing staff) on SAS Australia, but Matthew ‘Ollie’ Ollerton said the show’s instructors aren’t that bad in real life.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia on Friday, the 47-year-old SAS star and mental health speaker said the DS are all quite sensitive in real life.

‘We all have got that emotional and empathetic side, and that’s something that people are really quite shocked about, because they think everyone in the special forces is a steely-eyed, cold-hearted killer,’ he said. 

‘You need soldiers with empathy. You’re put into so many situations that you need to have a very strong level of empathy and also keep in touch with your emotions. 

‘That show is tough love. We absolutely respect and admire every one of them for turning up in the first place.’   

He confessed there were moments when he felt bad about what the recruits were forced to endure at the hands of himself and the show’s other DS. 

‘I’ve got empathy, and that show is hideous!’ he laughed. 

‘There’s sleep deprivation, there’s anxiety of not knowing what the f**k is going on, there’s hunger, and that cocktail, generally people don’t have to endure that. 

‘If we’re cold, we go into Starbucks and get a coffee. We have all these comforts, and to have them taken away, that’s the whole recipe that creates this disgusting tasting cake that we make.’ 

But Ollie insisted that the recruits who made it the furthest in the course were the ones who were doing it for themselves, not for publicity. 

Ollie said the DS also make a point of keeping in touch with the recruits to make sure they’re all okay after such a gruelling and raw experience.

‘We’re in touch with them all the time. We’re always messaging them. I admire all of them for coming on the show,’ he said.

‘Obviously the ones that get a long way into it, I’ve got a lot of respect for them. When you put people through that, so much pain, we’ve got to reach out to them just to say, “Hey, how are you doing?” Show that we’re not just evil. 

‘But they have so much respect for the journey that they’ve been put through. I always say, what really makes you you in life is rarely ever chosen.’

He added: ‘It is tough love, we encourage them and they’re really supported, but they’ve got to deliver.’